When Paths Cross
by Aangsfan
Summary: Modern. Katara and Aang are New at school. Aang is almost instantly Popular and Katara is almost instantly invisible. What happens when they meet? Answer: Aang has to choose which path he wants to travlel most, the path to Popularity or the path to love?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone. This is another story about the gang in high school. It starts off while Katara and her friends are talking. Hope you all enjoy. **

"So are you looking forward to this school year?" Toph asked Katara. The first day of school had gone by and Katara wasn't having any luck making friends.

"Of course not! You know that this is a whole new school for me. And I don't even know anybody here except for you and Sokka and Yue." Katara replied.

"Hey don't worry, this isn't a bad school, I mean if you don't include the mean teachers, the mean students, and the evil homework." Toph said smirking

"Thanks Toph. That makes me feel so much better." Katara replied sarcastically.

"No problem!" Toph said punching Katara's shoulder. Katara winced.

"Well, I'm going to head home." She said rubbing her shoulder.

"Tomorrow will probably be a better day." Toph said as she walked in the direction of her house.

Katara lived only two minutes away from her school, so she could walk the distance. When she got home Sokka was already there. He was in the kitchen stuffing his face with "after school snacks".

As Katara went upstairs, she heard the phone ring. "I'll get it." She yelled as she answered.

"Hello." She said.

"Hey Katara." It was Yue. She and Katara had been friends for a long time. "I barely saw you today at school. How was your first day?" she asked

Katara grunted. "I hated it, it's like I'm invisible. And almost everyone there is a jerk."

"Yeah, but that's high school for ya." Yue replied

"But I think the worse out of everyone is that new kid Aang and his friends." Katara said slumping on to her bed.

"I know! I can't believe him. Aang is new just like you, but he was almost instantly popular!" Yue said

"And they're so mean to everybody; It's so unfair." Katara told Yue.

"Well, maybe you'll have better luck tomorrow." Yue said.

"I hope." Katara sighed. "Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Katara said.

"Okay, bye." Yue replied.

"Bye." Katara hung up the phone and went back downstairs.

"Who was that?" Sokka asked

"It's not any of your business, but it was Yue." Katara said.

Sokka smiled at the thought of Yue because ever since he had met her he had a huge crush on her. Katara just rolled her eyes.

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The next day finally arrived. Katara pulled herself out of bed and got ready. She just wanted to stay home, but she couldn't so she headed off to school.

Katara went to homeroom when she got there. In her class of course were all of the jerks and popular people she hated and nobody she liked. Zuko, Jet, Haru, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were all friends with Aang. _They're probably just using him._ Katara thought.

Just then Jet followed by the rest of his 'friends' walked over to Katara, who was sitting in the corner all by herself.

Aang however wasn't with them. He was on the other side of the room staring at Katara. _Wow! She's pretty, but she looks so lonely and sad._ Aang thought.

As Jet got up to Katara he spoke. "Would you and that pretty face of yours like to go out with me sometime?"

Katara couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't even know the guy and she wanted nothing to do with him. "No" she spoke flatly. Then she got up and started to walk away. Jet's friends started to laugh. And then Jet went up to Katara and pulled her backpack from her. Katara turned around and yelled at him. "Give that back!"

"Oh, so now you want to talk to me." He said. Katara came up to him to grab her bag but he tossed it to Zuko.

"What do we have here?" Zuko asked. He then opened the bag and threw it's contents all across the room. "Stop it you jerks!" Katara said. _Why aren't there ever any teachers around?_ She thought.

"You little smart mouth!" Zuko yelled as he pushed her to the floor. Then they started to go up to Katara because they weren't finished. But Aang quickly jumped in between Katara and his friends. "Stop, this doesn't need to be solved with violence!" Aang said.

The rest of them just laughed and went out into the hall. Aang turned to Katara who was still on the ground. Then he saw small tears in her eyes. He walked up to her reaching his hand out to help her up. Katara was hesitant. "Come on, I don't bite." He said as she grabbed his hand. "I'm sorry that they were so mean to you." Aang said.

Katara answered in a grim tone. "Why would you care, you're just one of them!"

"No, trust me I'm not. They just wanted me to hang with them." he said. Aang helped her picked up her books and handed them to her.

"Thanks." She said.

"No problem. Um…look…I know we don't know each other very well, but do you want to hang out after school?" he asked as he rubbed the back of his head nervously and flashing his goofy grin.

_Well he is cute. And he doesn't seem like all of the others…_she thought. She answered hesitantly "Okay, maybe for a little while." She said.

"YES!" Aang yelled and then blushed. "I- I mean…"

Katara giggled a little bit. "Meet me at the Jasmine Dragon around five and we can have some tea while we get to know each other. Okay?" she said.

"Okay." Aang said blushing even more.

Aang then left. Katara stayed there thinking how weird this day had gone so far. When the bell rang she snapped back into reality and went to her first class.

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The school day had gone by so quick and as soon as school was over, she ran home so she could get ready. She was very excited. She wore a Blue and White tank-top with Jeans and flip-flops. She didn't want to wear anything to fancy.

When she was finally ready she headed out to the Jasmine Dragon. If she weren't thinking about Aang she probably would have noticed that Sokka still wasn't home. Katara looked at the clock. 4:45. So she went to the Jasmine Dragon and she waited and she waited some more. But Aang didn't come. She waited for two hours and he never came.

Katara walked home crying and thinking of how stupid she was to believe him. When she got home Sokka saw her and spoke. "Katara what's wrong?"

Katara did not answer. She just cried harder and went up to her room. _He better have a good reason to stand me up. _She was NOT looking forward to tomorrow.

**So are you curious about why Aang wasn't there? Well he has a good reason, but you'll have to wait until the next chapter. Review if you want to find out quicker. Until we meet again! TTFN!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm so glad that everyone liked it! Anyway here is the second chapter that you all have been waiting for! **

As Aang headed to the Jasmine Dragon he thought about Katara and how his 'friends' were mean to her. He was looking forward to meeting Katara tonight. And he was so lost in his thoughts that he wasn't paying any attention to his surroundings. As Aang continued to walk down the street he heard a strange noise. But when he looked back nobody was there. Then there was the feeling that he was be followed or watched. Aang quickened his pace as he passed an ally, but he wasn't quick enough.

Out of nowhere six individuals jumped him, forcing him to the ground. "Hey! What's going on?" he struggled as they pulled him into the dark abyss of the ally. It was really dark and Aang could barely make out the figures that attacked him. But as they came closer he saw six familiar faces.

Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, Zuko, Haru, and Jet were standing around him giving him dirty looks. Jet then spoke. "I heard that you got a date with that stupid girl I was trying to hook up with."

"I wouldn't call it a date." Aang said hesitantly as he started to get up.

"Of course not, because if I can't have her than you can't either." Jet said pushing Aang.

"Just shut up Jet!" yelled Haru. Jet then stopped talking.

"Were not here to talk about Jet's issues with you", Azula started "Were here to tell you to that you're hanging out with us now, and that means you have to do what we say."

"You can't hang out with other people that aren't as cool as us unless we say so." Zuko said.

"You don't run the school!" Aang yelled.

"Yeah we kinda do." Ty Lee replied.

"You see, we are the richest kids in the school and we were kind enough to let you hang out with us." Haru started.

"You should consider it an honor and just do what we tell you instead of being disrespectful." Zuko finished.

"What do you want from me?!?!" Aang asked getting angrier.

"We want you to stop ruining our reputation." Azula smirked.

"In other words, don't talk, meet, or even look at that girl…ever!" Mai said flatly.

"Why her?!?!?" Aang asked.

"Because she is the only one that can stop us…" Jet muttered under his breath so low that Aang couldn't here him.

"Huh? What did you say?" Aang asked.

"Nothing, just stay away from that girl!" Haru yelled looking sharply at Jet.

"You can't make me." Aang replied.

Azula stepped up. "Like we said, if you talk, meet, or even glance at her then their will be consequences. And not just for you but for her too." Azula grinned evilly.

Then Zuko took a fighting stance and shot a huge fireball at Aang. Aang tried to dodge it but it hit his left arm. Aang fell to his knees in pain. He held his arm close to his body and then noticed that he was bleeding continuously.

"That's just a sample of what's to come!" Zuko yelled. "You're not to tell anyone! Understand?"

Aang still in pain nodded as they walked away laughing leaving him alone in the dark ally.

Aang sat there for a few moments. _What have I done? She's going to be so mad that I didn't come and I can't even tell her because they will hurt her. And it's all because I accepted Zuko's invitation to be their friend. I'm so stupid! _Aang thought.

He then got up, still holding his arm, and quickly went to get something to help his arm.

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The next day came and Katara just wanted to crawl under a rock and die. She got up, got ready and ate as slow as possible, not caring whether or not she was late. Then she dragged herself to school before Sokka even got the chance to ask her what happened the previous night.

When she got there Toph, and Yue came up to talk to Katara. "Hey guys." Katara said in a half sad half mad tone.

"What's wrong with you?" Toph asked.

"Nothing, I don't want to talk about it." She responded flatly before moving on.

As she walked off Yue spoke. "What was that all about?" she asked Toph. Toph just shrugged.

As Katara sat down in here homeroom and laid her head on her desk. She saw Aang across the room but didn't even glance in his direction after that. She was thinking about how she was going to tell him off.

Her thoughts were interrupted though when the bell rang. She went to her first class and then she went to second and third and lunch. The day was going by, but very slowly.

After the bell rang at the end of lunch Katara walked down the halls and past the lockers until she got to hers. When she opened it something fell out.

She looked down and saw that it was a note and picked it up to read it. It was from Aang.

The note read:

_Katara _

_I know you probably hate me after I didn't come to meet you. But I had a good reason. Well there really shouldn't be a reason I wasn't there, but if you meet me after school under the huge tree that's behind the Jasmine Dragon, I'll explain everything. And I know it's kind of hard to trust me since you really don't know me, but I promise you that I'm not a bad guy. Please don't show this note to anybody or tell them about it though. I'll tell you why later if you decide to come. _

_Your friend,_

_Aang _

Katara stared at the note, and then decided that she would give Aang one more chance. _I'll be there. _Katara thought to herself as she hid the note and walked away.

**Okay so there is the chapter you have been waiting for. So now I'm leaving you people to think about what will happen next. Will Katara make it to see Aang? Will it actually be Aang waiting? Or will somebody find out? DUN DUN DUN! I hope you liked it! And don't worry…….I'll be back with the next chapter if I get reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I told you I'd be back! Here is the next chapter for all of you wonderful reviewers out there!**

The last bell had just rung and Katara was headed to her locker. As she put some books into her locker she didn't notice that she had dropped something. She then shut her locker and went outside.

Jet was walking down the hall and then saw the thing Katara dropped and picked it up. It was a note, but not just any note. It was the note to Katara from Aang. He smirked as he read it and went to tell his friends.

Katara was outside when she saw Toph and Yue. Toph stepped in front of Katara's path not letting her trough and spoke. "What was wrong with you this morning?" she asked.

"Yeah, why did you just avoid us, did something happen?" Yue asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Katara lied. "I'm fine."

"Now if you don't mind, I have to be somewhere." She stated walking around Toph.

Toph and Yue just stood there baffled as she walked away. "Let's wait a few minutes and then follow her to see where she is going." Toph said. Yue nodded.

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While Katara was busy talking to her friends, Jet told his friends about the note. "So Aang is trying to pull a fast one on us." Azula stated. "Jet you go hide in the tree before the girl gets there, and signal us when she knows everything."

Jet nodded and then ran as fast and as sneaky as he could to get to the tree before Katara did without anyone seeing him. Once he was there he noticed that neither Aang nor Katara had gotten there yet. But Aang arrived a few moments later and then Katara arrived. Aang was wearing a long black jacket for some reason.

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They were under the tree behind the Jasmine Dragon. Jet unknowingly to anyone else was in the tree they were under. In the center of where the small clearing there was a small pond that added a nice affect to the scenery.

"Katara, you came!" Aang said.

"Well, I thought that I would give you a second chance to redeem yourself." She told him.

"Thank you." He said.

"You're welcome. Now please tell me why you stood me up." Katara said.

"Well, you see I never meant to. I was walking to the Jasmine Dragon and then Azula, Zuko, Jet, Haru, Mai, and Ty Lee jumped me and pulled me into an ally. They told me that since I was there friend I couldn't hang with anyone else unless they said so. They told me that I couldn't hang out with you imparticular. And then when I told them I didn't have to do what they said they told me that if I talked to you or met with you or even looked at you they would hurt the both of us." He said.

Katara just stared at him wondering whether or not to believe him. "I know you probably don't believe me but I have proof. They told me that this was just a sample of what was to come if I talked, looked, or met with you." Aang stated as he took off his jacket.

His left arm was bandaged almost all the way from his wrist to his shoulder. Katara put her hand over her mouth as sorrow filled her eyes because she felt so bad for him. Katara gave Aang a hug surprisingly. "Ow." Aang said barely above a whisper.

Katara let go of the hug and spoke. "I'm so sorry Aang."

"No, it's okay." He replied.

"B-But you're hurt." She said glancing down at his arm.

"I'll live." He said "I just had to try to tell you so that you would know why I couldn't come. And that's why I told you not to tell anyone because I didn't want you to get hurt because of me."

Katara glanced around making sure that nobody else was around and then she took Aang's hand and led him over to the pond. Then she kneeled down and pulled Aang gently down with her. "Aang take off your bandages please." Katara stated.

Aang looked at her confused. "Why?" he asked.

"Just because." She said smiling sweetly.

Aang did as he was told and took them off. When Katara saw his arm she almost cried. "Aang who did this to you?" she asked.

"Zuko…why do you ask?" Aang asked.

"Just because." She said with an evil glare in her eyes.

Katara took Aang's arm in her hand again looked around to make sure that nobody was around. "Aang hold still." She said.

"What are you doing?" Aang asked.

Katara didn't answer. She bended a little water from the pond and it surrounded her hand. Her hand started to glow and she placed her hand on Aang's arm and inhaled and exhaled. He winced a little at first but then his wound was gone. He looked gratefully at Katara and then spoke.

"You're a waterbender!" he said with amazement in his voice.

"Yeah…but please don't tell anybody, nobody knows, not even my own family." Katara pleaded.

Aang gave her a hug and smiled. "Thank you Katara. I promise I won't tell, but you have to promise me that you won't bend outside again. You know that it's dangerous, especially if _they_ catch you."

Jet who was still in the tree listening gave the signal. He whistled in a way that sounded like a bird and called to the others so that they would come.

"Yeah, I know but you were hurt and I-." Aang cut Katara off by putting his finger to her lips. "Shhh. Listen." He said. They sat there silent and then they could hear something in the bushes.

All of the sudden a big blue flash came towards Katara. Aang went into action though and quickly pushed Katara down to the ground just missing the lightning.

Katara's heart was beating faster than ever before as she got up to face whoever it was. When they stood they saw five figures emerge from the bushes. Zuko, Azula, Ty Lee, Mai, and Haru came forth, and then Jet jumped down from the tree. "Oh no." Aang said to himself.

"I should've known it would be you JET!" she yelled stepping forth. But before could even fight Aang pushed her back behind him. He raised his arms and then a big cloud of smoke appeared.

"Don't lose sight of them!" Zuko shouted. But it was too late. The smoke was too thick and nobody could see.

"Katara hang on to me!" he said picking her up (like in the first episode). Jet and Haru had just spotted them and jumped towards them. At the same time Aang with Katara in his arms jumped high in to the air, making Jet and Haru hit each other.

When Aang jumped far enough away, he put Katara down and they ran. "Come on, let's go to my house, they won't look for us there!" Katara yelled. Aang nodded and ran, following her to her house. _This has been the worst week of my life!_ Aang thought.

**Well I hope you enjoyed this, because today is my birthday and I decided to put this up for you all to read. It's ironic how you guys get the present. Anyway, I'll try to update soon! R&R plz. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! Here is the next chapter!!!**

"Come on, we have to find them!" Azula yelled. All five others followed her as she ran out of the area. "Split up!" Zuko yelled.

Haru, Jet, and Zuko ran in one direction and Azula, Mai and Ty Lee ran in the other direction.

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Just by the giant smoke cloud that Aang had made two individuals watched from behind some bushes. "Come on Toph! We have to go see if Katara is okay!" Yue whispered.

"And we need to find out who she was with." Toph replied. Yue nodded and then the two were quick on their feet and quietly followed Katara and Aang, making sure that nobody knew that they were following them.

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Katara and Aang were still running. As Katara looked back she saw the distance figures of Zuko, Jet, and Haru. Katara grabbed Aang's hand and pulled him down an ally and around the corner of a building. Then she led him around another corner and stopped for a second. She poked her head around the corner and quickly pulled it back as Haru, Jet, and Zuko ran past the ally.

Katara gave a sigh relief and again grabbed Aang's hand and spoke. "Come on!"

Katara took Aang down some backstreets and then to a store. They ran inside and ducked under the counter and out the backdoor pausing only a second for Katara to speak to the woman running the store. "Hi Ms. Yagoda!" she yelled.

"Hello Katara, here take this basket of food home for you and you're brother." She said giving Katara the basket.

"Thanks!" Katara yelled as she ran out of the store with the basket. She handed the basket to Aang as they approached the back yard. Katara pulled Aang towards a big fence and then she jumped it followed by Aang.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Short cut!" Katara yelled as she saw Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee coming up from behind them.

They down through another ally but this one was a dead end. Up above their heads was a fire escape. Katara quickly flipped and reached the ladder. She climbed up and reached her hand out to Aang. He gladly took it and hoisted himself up and they climbed to the roof.

When they go to the top Katara rushed over to the corner and stopped to talk to Aang. "Do exactly what I do and hurry!" she spoke in a whisper. Taking action she jumped off of the roof and slid down the gutter. Aang followed orders and did what she did.

Above them Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee were looking around baffled because they didn't know where they went.

Katara, however, took this as an opportunity and ran down a few more streets cut through some allies and finally arrived at Katara's house.

Katara pulled a key out of her pocket and opened the door and they ran in. She then shut the door and locked it tight. Sokka was in the kitchen eating and didn't even notice that she came home. "Sokka! I'm home and I'll be in my room!" she yelled as she pulled Aang upstairs and into her room and shut the door.

They both collapsed on her bed panting heavily. "You okay?" Aang asked Katara.

"Yeah, just tired." She responded.

"You were so amazing!" Aang shouted excitedly. "I mean…you really know this neighborhood!"

Katara blushed. "Thanks." She responded. "Once you've lived here your whole life you kinda have everything wired."

"But what about you? How did you jump so high when you saved us? I mean that's like impossible unless you're an-" Katara started.

"Unless I'm an Airbender?" Aang finished.

Katara was speechless. "Katara, I am an Airbender." He said.

"But wait…then that means…" Katara suddenly stopped.

"It means I'm the Avatar." Aang said.

Katara just stared as realization struck her. "You're the Avatar?" she asked. Aang nodded

"You're the Avatar…" she repeated

**Sorry it's a little short but I had to end it there. It's kind of like a small cliffhanger. But it also leaves you to think about how Katara will react. What will Toph and Yue do? What will Azula, Zuko and their friends do? And will happen next? DUN DUN DUN!!! R&R PLZ!**


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